Mantle hoses are flexible hoses that are furnished with an outer ply of reinforcing elements, the so-called “mantle”. Inside the surrounding outer ply, hoses of such kind may comprise a plurality of plies or layers made of various elastomers, thermoplastic elastomers or thermoplastics and reinforcing elements. The outer ply of reinforcing elements may have the form of a braided, knitted, meshed or woven structure or the like.
Textile mantle hoses are frequently used in the low pressure range and/or the low temperature range (<150° C.), as fuel, oil or compressor hoses, for example. Hoses with reinforcing inserts have been used regularly for the high temperature range (≤150° C.) previously, but the high-quality, additional outer layer they need in order to function effectively represents a significant disadvantage in terms of both cost and weight.
Mantle hoses for high temperature applications with a thermoplastic base may be constructed inter alia as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) pipes, or even as corrugated PTFE pipes (Teflon® corrugated pipes) surrounded by an additional stainless steel braid. The disadvantage with this arrangement is that such hoses are heavier, very stiff and inflexible, and have low dynamic performance capabilities in motion.
Mantle hoses are also known in which the mantle is constructed from glass fibers, and these are used in particular in the low pressure range. However, one disadvantage of glass fibers is that they become increasingly susceptible to hydrolysis as the temperature rises. Furthermore, special personal protection measures must be taken when processing glass fibers, and this substantially raises the level of complexity in production.